Which general area of specialization are you in if you are managing the accounting function for a large organization, such as one that trades on public stock exchanges?

You are likely to be working in the accounting field for public companies. A public accountant is an accountant that works for publically traded companies instead of companies in the private sector. Public companies are traded on the public stock exchange so they allow others to purchase share in their stock. A public accountant and a private accountant have similar rolls when it comes to inside the company documents but are different when they deal with public trade or not.